Kimball PD arrest two in Oak Street bust

The Kimball Police Department made two drug arrests on Friday, December 6, in the vicinity of South Oak Street.

According to Captain Justin Trout with the Kimball Police Department, the busts started with a phone call from a resident at 306 S. Oak, claiming that a gun had been stolen from the property.

The investigation led Trout to 600 S. Oak, where Jody Kelley, 41, was arrested after drugs and drug paraphernalia were found at the residence.

“At 600 S. Oak, I suspect that what I found is, of course a syringe and a needle, drug paraphernalia, I also found green leafy substance which I suspect to be marijuana in a small amount. I also found a glass pipe. Inside the glass pipe was a white crystal like substance which I expect to be methamphetamine,” Trout said.

After Kelley was taken into custody and booked on charges of possession of paraphernalia, possession with intent to distribute, and possession of marijuana under an ounce, further information received by Trout led him back to 306 S. Oak, believing that there may be narcotics in the residence.

“I went in and contacted the male inside of the residence and asked him for consent to search, because of the information we had. He allowed the search to happen,” Trout said.

In the process of searching the residence, Trout states that he also found drugs and drug paraphernalia. When Trout informed the resident at the property, Robert Murray, 56, that he would be taken into custody, Trout states that the situation quickly became tense.

“A meth pipe was found with crystal-like substance in the pipe, and when I told the male that he would be taken to jail and placed under apprehension, he became very violent. He began to throw things. He was given multiple commands to calm down. At one point, he tried to destroy the evidence that I had pulled out of his room. He had knocked some of the evidence across the room,” Trout said.

After being given multiple commands to calm down and refusing to yield, Trout deployed his tazer, forcing Murray to the ground. However, the struggle did not stop there, according to Trout.

“He continued to struggle, more commands were given, and he was placed under apprehension. At that point, he complained of some chest pain so we called EMS and made sure that he had appropriate medical care and he was taken up to the hospital where he was released and taken to the Kimball County jail,” Trout said.

Upon further investigation of the scene, Trout recovered several packages of a “green leafy substance” suspected to be marijuana along with a “white crystal like substance” suspected to be methamphetamine.

“On the marijuana, there were multiple packages of that found. I think we had a total of ten different packages of green leafy like substance which we suspected was marijuana. That weight for all the green leafy substance that we found it in was, I believe, 3.3 ounces,” Trout said.

A firearm was also recovered at the scene.

“There was a firearm found there as well, and , according to the records that we have and the information, he is a convicted felon and can not possess a firearm,” Trout said.

Murray was booked in to Kimball County Jail with charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana over an ounce, resisting arrest and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The department also had another felony firearm possession case over that same weekend, according to Trout, with Sean Morrison, 32, being arrested at 610 South Maple near Mary Lynch Elementary, and booked in on charges of felony possession of a firearm and child abuse by Detective Andy Bramer of the Kimball Police Department.

According to Trout, Bramer had received a tip from a female stating that Morrison had multiple firearms inside of his residence, believing that Morrison could not own a firearm due to previous convictions.

“Detective Bramer investigated it and sure enough he couldn’t have firearms. Further information from the female was able to pinpoint where the firearms were inside the residence. A search warrant was applied for and granted and then on Monday morning the search warrant was executed and the male was brought to jail,” Trout said.

Though the busts over the weekend were relatively successful, Trout did not walk away unscathed, being pricked with a needle at 600 S. Oak containing an unknown substance.

“I actually got stuck at the first residence with a needle. I’m in the process of getting my blood tested and making sure everything’s clear on that end,” Trout said.